Everton surprised a lot of people when they decided to cough up a whopping £50m to sign Richarlison from Watford this summer. However, the Brazilian forward has gone on to justify his massive price-tag in the first few games of the season. The 21-year-old talent found the back of the net twice against Wolves which helped the ten men of Everton secure a useful point away at the Molineux Stadium in the opening game of the season.
He followed that up with another impressive display, this time at Goodison Park, as the Toffees ran out 2-1 winners against a resolute Southampton side last weekend. Richarlison scored with a well-placed header on Saturday going on to show the Everton faithful that his opening day man-of-the-match performance was no fluke. Now, the real question is whether he can continue to maintain such a high level of performance week in week out under the tutelage of Marco Silva.
If he can be prolific in front of goal on a consistent basis, then the Merseysiders have a good chance of breaking into the Premier League’s Top 6 this season. Don’t believe us? Let’s break it down and shed some light on why the Everton supporters should be optimistic about their team’s chances of having a successful campaign in the top tier of England.
The father-son relationship between Marco Silva and Richarlison
Ever since his arrival in England, Marco Silva has taken the English top-flight by storm because of his attractive style of play and his passion for winning, so much so that Everton came calling in the middle of last season to lure him to Goodison Park. However, the Portuguese boss struggled to cope up with the distractions off the pitch and after a run of poor results, he was eventually sacked by the Hornets.
One of the best achievements of his time at Vicarage Road was the fact that he got the best out of Richarlison in the first half of the previous campaign. Since his departure, the Brazilian striker struggled under Javi Gracia’s leadership and was eventually benched towards the latter parts of the season.
Now that Silva has brought him to Everton, we are once again witnessing the best out of Richarlison due to the Portuguese manager’s ability to get the most out of his talented star. They have developed a father-son relationship, one which could help the Toffees challenge with the big boys of the Premier League.
Top 6: A Realistic Target?
In the last four years, the 6th placed team in the English top-flight finished with an overall tally of 62, 63, 69 and 63 respectively with either 18 or 19 wins to their name. So the question is, is this Everton team good enough to win half of their Premier League matches?
With some high-profile players such as Richarlison, Cenk Tosun, Theo Walcott, Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes in their ranks and a lot of squad depth, the Toffees are more than capable of doing so if their players can gel well under Silva.
Arsenal and Manchester United: Two Teams On The Decline
Arsenal and Manchester United have made a poor start to their domestic campaign with the former losing both their matches against Manchester City and Chelsea respectively while the latter suffering a bitter defeat versus Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday. Both teams could struggle in the league this season which is why it might hand an advantage to the Blues of Merseyside.
One thing is for sure, a lot would rest on the young shoulders of Richarlison, who has a wonderful chance of surprising a lot of people by leading his new side to an impressive top 6 finish at the end of this campaign.
